Comboni Lay Missionaries

Running to the aid of those in need (In the footsteps of the Risen One V)

Resucitado
Resucitado

In the second meaning of the word RESUCITAR (to resurrect), the RAE dictionary tells us that colloquially it means “to restore, renew, give new life to something.”

This summer I had a missionary experience in Mozambique with five other companions. During this experience, I met Mrs. M., a widow with a deep faith who had spent her long life working as a teacher. She had a very warm personality and cared deeply about all her neighbors. A few years ago, in her desire to help others, she gathered a group of people, members of the Songo parish, to start the Caritas group from scratch.

Thanks to her efforts and those of her collaborators, Caritas Songo was launched with the fundamental objective of restoring dignity to all those in need in the village.

Every day, she would go out on foot with her group to visit, accompany, distribute, listen… always with a smile on her face and a transparent gaze that showed the merciful Jesus she carried to everyone.

I could talk about many of the experiences I shared with Mrs. M., but the one that impressed me the most was the day we went with the group to respond to an emergency call. An elderly man had been left on the street because he had been kicked out of the house where he lived. He took refuge in an abandoned, dirty, dilapidated room with no door. The neighbors alerted her to the situation, and Mrs. M., without hesitation, came to his aid, taking money out of her own pocket to cover the old man’s basic needs, mainly food and water. She asked the community to mobilize to find a solution to the problem of the missing door, and they quickly managed to bring one that solved the old man’s lack of privacy and security. And just as the Good Samaritan did, she left more money with one of the man’s neighbors so that she could buy more food and whatever else he needed.

Her generosity, selflessness, and humanity, in the style of the Gospel, made us think about our own attitudes and behaviors in the society in which we live. Would we have acted in the same way? Probably not.

Two months ago, I received the news of her death. The same Jesus who was present in her charitable work called her to reward her and thank her for being Good News.

Mrs. M. was determined to restore, renew, and give new life, that is, to RESURRECT, all those who came to her for help. Nor did she forget to go to those who could not or did not want to come to the parish. Those were her chosen ones, the same ones whom Jesus approached because he knew that they would not take the first step.

Now she enjoys the RESURRECTION that she gave to so many people in Songo.

Faina Toledo, CLM

In the footsteps of the Risen Christ (IV)

Resucitado
Resucitado

Some years ago in a village, belonging to the parish of Mongoumba, there was a Christian family, engaged in the parish, the father, a catechist, had several children; one of them, Eloy, was 10 years old.

One day Eloy went to bathe in the river, as usual, and when he returned home he collapsed, without consciousness, and went into a coma.

His father quickly took him to the health center, where there was nothing they could do, because the center was very basic, and they directed him to the hospital in Mongoumba.

LMC RCA

When they arrived at the hospital and admitted him, no one knew how to give an answer, the possibilities of doing tests, analysis are nonexistent, there is no equipment to do a CAT scan. And his father, Jean Batiste, not knowing what to do and where to call, went to seek comfort at the church and spoke to the parish priest; and from that moment on in community prayer, Eloy and his family were always present and we tried to support the family, both physically and spiritually.

We do not know how or why, but one day Eloy began to wake up, his body was still paralyzed.

The rehabilitation center “DA TI NDOYE”, which belongs to the parish, took him in. With everyone’s effort and hope, the physiotherapist began to work with him.

LMC RCA

After a month of daily work and effort Eloy, in his wheelchair, began to attend the mission school, his dream was to play soccer.

In Mongoumba, he continued his life, as normal as possible, attended catechesis, as in his community, and received baptism and first communion.

One Sunday, during mass, at the moment of approaching communion and in front of everyone, he stood up and without anyone’s help he managed to get there by himself.

Ten years later, on Easter Sunday, I met Eloy in his community, with his friends; he is a young man of 20 years old, autonomous, who walks without any external support and has a smile that fills the heart of those who receive it.

Teresa Monzon, CLM Mongoumba

Iza from Poland Arrives in Kenya to Begin Mission.

Iza Kenya

Kenya warmly welcomes Iza from Poland, who arrived on 6th May to begin her mission here in Kenya. Her arrival is a significant moment, and she was greeted with enthusiasm by a group of Comboni Lay Missionary Kenya who went to the airport to welcome her. The atmosphere was filled with anticipation and heartfelt greetings.

As Iza stepped out, she was met with smiles and warm embraces. We are incredibly excited to have Iza with us. We look forward to supporting her in her mission. Iza expressed her gratitude, stating, ‘I’m so grateful to be here and eager to start working with the community.

CLM Kenya

In the footsteps of the Risen Christ (III)

Resucitado
Resucitado

Sometimes, in the hospital, days go by immersed in daily routine, in routine work. It is often difficult to break the monotony. Although we deal with different people, the same moments are repeated: the crying, the disorientation, the exhausting wait before a farewell that we do not want to come, a diagnosis that stops our life, an unwanted loneliness, persistent and chronic pain…

In the midst of all this suffering, and in the context of the Easter season that we are celebrating, I ask myself again and again: Where are you, Lord? How can I see you and discover you risen? What signs of Life can I find in the midst of so much pain?

And then I see you. I discover you in those words full of tenderness that ask for permission to clean a patient in bed, to take a blood test. I recognize you in the hands that caress with comfort the cheeks of those who suffer, in the eyes of the bedridden person who, with a look and a smile, says good morning to us. You are in the hands always ready to help, in those who, despite the daily hustle and bustle, find time to listen.

Yes, Lord, you dwell in all these situations. And it is there where I recognize you and see you Risen, giving LIFE in the midst of so many experiences of death that sometimes we have to live as health-care workers.

Esther Nieto, CLM